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[C] Pride and Predrinks

It was midday and it was getting to that time of year where is got uncomfortably hot for Dick. It wasn't unbearable, but he still preferred the cooler temperatures of the rest of the year.

At his suggestion, they had gone out into town to spend their day off together. They in a coffee shop, sketching for a bit, enjoying each others company.

It was one of his favourite coffee shops. A little on the expensive side, but the coffee was good and the atmosphere was pleasant. They managed to nab a seat by the window before it got busy. Unusually busy. Outside was becoming packed, too.

He looked out in wonder at the obnoxious costumes, flags around people's shoulders and signs held high in the air. It didn't take a genius to work out what they were gathering for.

His attention turned back to his boyfriend.

"Have you ever been to one?" He asked, head tilted to indicate outside.

He tipped his head, gaze turning back to Dick. A grin stretched his lips. "And honestly? I'd rather spend time being gay than going out there and celebrating the fact that I'm gay without my boyfriend, if I had to make a choice."

He enjoyed the time he spent with Dick. He wasn't going to pick a big crowd of people over a nice date with his boyfriend.

He stretched and arm out to brush his fingers idly against his knuckles. He curiously turned his attention back outside.

It seemed they were sat in a prime location. The cafe was one floor up and they could look down on the street bellow. There were groups of woman slowly rolling past on bikes. Most had another woman wrapped around their waists. A van followed them with muscular, half-naked man in short-shorts.

He purposefully dragged his attention back to Fleck.

"Were you part of a big group like them?"

It was a little too easy to imagine Fleck dancing around like an idiot in boots and short-shorts.

Dick groaned and placed a hand on his hot cheek in an attempt to hide it. Instead, it just became even more apparent between pale fingers.

He was glad the cup was empty, he would have choked at Fleck's offer. But he didn't objectify to it. His lips stayed shut as he listened.

So, Fleck marched in civvies at the back. That sounded more like his boyfriend than what his over-active imagination offered.

"I see."

A large group of parents were coming into sight. Many pushing prams or holding kids hands - some were covered head to toe in rainbows with glitter on their faces, grinning up adoringly at their parents. It shouldn't have been a strange site to him, but it was.

He smiled.

"Maybe, once the parade had gone though and the crowds had thinned a bit, we could have a look? There are normally events that go on, right?"

Behind the gaggle of mothers, were the civvies. Groups of friends and couples marching cheerfully.

"That's my group."

He pointed, to a handful of punks marching and laugh. There was a tall woman carrying another smaller woman on her back, both with brightly coloured mohawks. Three people were marching together all holding hands. And Raphael marched along besides them, grinning as wide as the others.

"She does when she's talking fetishes with other Doms." He said it bluntly, but it did make him a little uncomfortable.

He was the first to be open with his sexuality, and kinks with his partners. But admitting that he'd witnessed that conversation with complete strangers, while he's sat there being quiet at his 'Dom's' order? A little mess comfortable.

"She's super into it, and I tried it for a while for her but." He shrugged. "I don't think I'm suited to structured long-term submission."

He tore his gaze away from the woman to look at Fleck, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"I see."

The new piece of information he had wasn't something he wanted to know. Despite that, it also gained him a little bit of relief and settled some curiosity. She was the only sexual partner he knew Fleck had, now at least he knew he didn't have to live up to her intense interests. Even with his inexperience, he wasn't sure he ever could.

Those three words bought a breathtakingly bright smile to Fleck's face.

He loved the way Dick said the phrase. Neither of them were one to say it after every conversation. It was important to them. And Dick always said it with such sincerity, it made him feel truly loved every time it was said.

He stayed where he was, leaned over the table, but not vying to attack Dick's face with his lips.